The Bravest

Two days after meeting Lao Zhou, Lin Jie went back to the welfare home with Haitang, who rarely came from her hometown, and Haitang only came once every other day. This time, the two of them went to the welfare home to see the children, especially Teacher Liu, who was different today.

"Teacher Liu, what's wrong with you? Why do you have to hold the dean while walking? How shameful." A child who was only three or four years old was scribbling on the ground with a bamboo stick. He was learning to write from the older children.

A little boy next to him corrected him immediately, "What do you know? Teacher Liu must be in love with the dean. That's what Lady Wu from the cafeteria said. When adults are in love, they hug each other and sleep together. I'll date you when I grow up."

Lin Jie found the child's words a little funny, but he was very proud in his heart. He invested so much energy and money, just so that these children could live a carefree life, although the number of these children was insignificant compared to the helpless children in Shanghai or even the whole country.

But Lin Jie has tried his best. If there were more, the welfare home would not be able to operate. This was the result that Lin Jie and Liu Qingshan had to accept after calculating the accounts many times. The welfare home saved everything except food. They didn't even want to use more pencils. The children spent most of their time practicing writing in the sand.

All the children in the yard knew Lin Jie and Liu Haitang. One was a teacher, so of course they knew each other. Lin Jie came less often, but a large photo of Lin Jie was hung in the welfare house. Originally, his family didn't want to hang it, but Liu Sheng, Yidao and the leading guys insisted on doing so, because the welfare house couldn't raise ungrateful children. Even Liu Qingshan supported this, so his reason was even harder to refute.

“If you don’t want the children to remember you as the dean, do you want them to really remember the words Japan-China Charity on the door? That would be a shame for us.”

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Lin Jie responded to the children all the way. As long as he saw the children's smiles, he felt that all his efforts were worth it. However, Liu Haitang was more concerned about what the children said.

"Nonsense, the dean and Teacher Sun are in love. Last time, Teacher Sun hugged the dean and walked with him, and even gave me candy."

"You are talking nonsense. The dean is clearly in love with Teacher Liu."

The kids following behind him started quarreling, neither of them giving in. Lin Jie had no choice but to turn around and coax them.

"Hey, hey, we can't quarrel. Teacher Sun and Teacher Liu are both the dean's girlfriends, okay?" Lin Jie was extremely thick-skinned.

"Dean, why do you have two girlfriends? Isn't it true that a man can only have one wife?"

Lin Jie really didn't know how to respond to this. Liu Haitang next to him covered her mouth and watched Lin Jie make a fool of himself.

Fortunately, a very smart kid stood up at this time and said, "If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. Brother Liu Sheng said that the dean is a kind person. Kind people have many wives. When I grow up, I will do good deeds and be a kind person like the dean. Then you and I can marry many wives."

Lin Jie didn't know whether to laugh or cry after listening to this. He didn't know how Liu Sheng and his gang taught the children in the welfare home. Anyway, the children thought that whatever the director did was right.

"Hey, Little Stone is the most talkative and ambitious. Share these candies with everyone. No fighting, okay?"

"I know. Brother Liu Sheng and Brother Yidao said that we are a family. As long as we are united, no one will dare to bully us. Anyone who is a traitor will be thrown into the river to feed the fish. They also said that the older children should take care of the younger ones. I am nine years old and will soon be able to help the dean with work. Brother Liu Sheng said that if we make money, we will have meat to eat and we won't starve to death like people outside."

"Ah, Shitou, how do you know that people are starving to death outside?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"Brother Liu Sheng would take a few of us older kids out every month. He said that only by seeing the outside world could we understand the goodness of the welfare home. Director, last time I saw several children of our age being wrapped in mats and thrown into a pit and buried. It was so scary that I didn't dare sleep for three nights."

"Yes, I saw it too, but I didn't lose sleep. Brother Liu Sheng said I was brave and wanted to teach me how to shoot a gun. Don't be afraid, Shitou. I will protect you once I learn how to shoot a gun." Another child squeezed in front of Lin Jie and said loudly with his chest puffed out. He looked so proud.

"Great, but you have to learn to write first, and then you can talk about shooting. Go and play, Teacher Liu and I have something to do. Don't fight over the candies, okay? And don't give any candies to those who can't walk, or he will choke." Lin Jie patiently instructed the little guy who was leading the group.

"I get it. Dean, you and Teacher Liu should continue your relationship." After saying this, Shi Tou led the group of little guys away.

Liu Haitang just held Lin Jie's arm and watched him amuse the children with admiration on her face. This was the hero in Haitang's heart who endured humiliation and gave everything to feed more than 300 orphans. He was her, Liu Haitang's man. What was wrong with having three wives? The children all said that great men have many wives. All she had to do was keep an eye on him and not let him find another wife.

……

In the office, Liu Qingshan and Lin Jie sat opposite each other, while Liu Haitang went to the classroom to teach the children.

"Dad, that's about it. The blockade will be very strict. Are you ready?" Lin Jie was a little worried.

"Don't worry, our main force has already retreated, leaving only a small number of capable forces to fight. We have also stockpiled weapons and some supplies as you reminded us. We will be fine, but the people in the blockade area will suffer."

"Dad, when I go there, I will inevitably do things that I shouldn't do. It's hard to grasp the right balance, so I came to ask you for advice today."

"Well, this is indeed a difficult matter. I have experienced it too. Sometimes you have to take the initiative. Let me give you an example. You and the Japanese spies are facing the people at the same time and want to rob food. Do you think it is better to let the Japanese take action or do it yourself? If you take action, at least you should be sensible. The people will at most lose their food. If the Japanese take action, they may lose their lives. So sometimes you can't avoid it and have to take the initiative. Of course, the situation you face may be more complicated. I can only give you one sentence, save your own life and the lives of the people. As long as no one is killed, it is inevitable that some things will be a little excessive."

"Alas, the country has paid too high a price to get to this point. It will be difficult to recover in a few decades," Lin Jie said with emotion.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we win this war, we are not afraid of paying any price. If we can't do it, the next generation will." Liu Qingshan is extremely confident of victory.

"Well, it's almost done. We will win in two to three years at most. Dad, the analysis reports I gave you are not intelligence, but you can pass them on if it's convenient for you. Just use them as a reference." Lin Jie sometimes summarized some daily things, and then did some analysis himself to predict the direction of the situation. These were all given to Liu Qingshan for research.

"I know that these will be passed on when the materials are transported, not through intelligence channels. You should be careful out there. Don't be careless and let your own people shoot you. The armed work team is not a pushover." Liu Qingshan reminded Lin Jie that he not only had to deal with the Japanese, but also had to avoid confronting him.

"Dad, take care of yourself. I'll be leaving in a few days and may not be back so soon. It's okay to let Haitang go home and stay with you for a few days. Also, I have told Gangcun that he may come to the welfare home more often. Don't be nervous and don't go to the warehouse area. Gangcun cares about that warehouse, which is also the umbrella for the welfare home."

"I understand. Just keep everything as usual. Go back and spend more time with Haitang these few days."

……